Data from: Cis-regulatory differences in isoform expression associate with life history strategy variation in Atlantic salmon

• Main Authors: Verta, Jukka-Pekka, Debes, Paul, Piavchenko, Nikolai, Ruokolainen, Annukka, Ovaskainen, Outi, Moustakas-Verho, Jacqueline, Tillanen, Seija, Parre, Noora, Aykanat, Tutku, Erkinaro, Jaakko, Primmer, Craig
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Salmo salar; digital droplet PCR; allele-specific expression; gene expression; MCMCglmm; Atlantic salmon
• Online Access: https://zenodo.org/record/4002009; https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.k6djh9w4w

A major goal in biology is to understand how evolution shapes variation in individual life histories. Genome-wide association studies have been successful in uncovering genome regions linked with traits underlying life history variation in a range of species. However, lack of functional studies of the discovered genotype-phenotype associations severely restrains our understanding how alternative life history traits evolved and are mediated at the molecular level. Here, we report a cis-regulatory mechanism whereby expression of alternative isoforms of the transcription co-factor vestigial-like 3 (vgll3) associate with variation in a key life history trait, age at maturity, in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Using a common-garden experiment, we first show that vgll3 genotype associates with puberty timing in one-year-old salmon males. By way of temporal sampling of vgll3 expression in ten tissues across the first year of salmon development, we identify a pubertal transition in vgll3 expression where maturation coincided with a 66% reduction in testicular vgll3 expression. The late maturation allele was not only associated with a tendency to delay puberty, but also with expression of a rare transcript isoform of vgll3 pre-puberty. By comparing absolute vgll3 mRNA copies in heterozygotes we show that the expression difference between the earlyand late maturity alleles is largely cis-regulatory. We propose a model whereby expression of a rare isoform from the late allele shifts the liability of its carriers towards delaying puberty. These results exemplify the potential importance of regulatory differences as a mechanism for the evolution of life history traits. Analyses as per the associated article can be reproduced with the R MarkDown scripts provided within this accession. Funding provided by: European Research CouncilCrossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000781Award Number: 742312Funding provided by: Academy of FinlandCrossref Funder Registry ID: ...